Archive for January 2011

Josué and I proudly announce the birth of Joela Carís Ahuite Deal, born January 11, 2011 at 2:00pm in Iquitos, Peru. She weighed 3.7 kilos (8.2 lbs) and 48 cm (19 in.). She is in perfect health and beautifully formed. Black hair, blue eyes (I think), light brown skin, and chubby cheeks. She has Josué’s cute face and my hairline and ears. She only cries when frustrated and is normally a happy baby, glad to be alive and in the world (as are her parents). She smiles a lot and curiously looks around: she could hold up her head the day she was born and is communicative (without screaming–unless she´s poopy). Everyone loves her–Josue´s family, our friends, and my mom, who is glad she’s here and could be part of this special event.

I feel relief now that she is out! And Josué is thankful that she is in great health. The C-section went well, no complications, good medical staff. Josué was a huge support. I am so glad the obstetrician took awesome pictures of the birth, as I was hidden behind a curtain with local anesthesia. I was in a lot of pain the first 2 days and gratefully took all the pain meds I was given (thru an IV); I’m still in pain, but able to move around some now. Josué has learned to carry her and care for her—brave soul!, and I learned to nurse—a bonding but sore experience. The hospital has responsible staff and have taken good care of the baby these four days (baths, diapers, belly button cleaning); I have a private room, AC, decent food, and a garden view where I can watch hummingbirds. I go home tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers for all of us.

Back to School. We will give 70 kids (ages 4-15) their annual back-to-school supply package on March 6. The package includes a notebook, a sticker sheet, 50 sheets of white paper, and a supply pouch with 2 pencils, a red pen, a blue pen, colored pencils, sharpener, eraser, paper clip, 2 triangles, ruler, and protractor. The total cost (we bought the supplies the last week of December, before prices rose in January) was $170 (it would have been $270, but I had materials left over from last year, or donated).

Adopt a child. What we give out in the school supply kit is only the basics. The cost to buy all the necessary supplies (including uniform, shoes, and backpack) for the year is $50 per child. Many parents cannot afford this and thus their kids go all year without the required materials. We are grateful to the sponsors who have donated—already 11 kids have received a full or partial donation for this school year, which is a blessing to them and their parents. Feel free to send a specific donation to Wordsower for your sponsored child (put my name and your child´s name with “back to school” on a sticky note and attach it to the check).

At Club today, I taught the elementary class a lesson on living (playing) together in harmony from Romans 12:18. They played a game (boats in water) to learn about teamwork.

The pictures are of kids who received gifts from their sponsors–Estefani, Christofer, Barbara, and Iris and Christina (my mom gave them their presents on behalf of their sponsor). Thank you all so much!